On Thursday, the Pentagon announced it is allowing those identify as transgender to openly serve in the U.S. military.

The conservative Family Research Council, always critical of the Obama administration’s social justice agenda, which they believe places political correctness over citizens' safety, responded strongly to the Pentagon’s latest initiative. Here’s FRC President Tony Perkins in his Thursday statement:

"This is yet another example of President Obama using America's military to fight culture wars instead of to fight real wars against the enemies of our nation," Perkins said. "Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that 'the only military matter . . . about which I ever sensed deep passion on [President Obama's] part was 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' Now Mr. Obama has only added to his legacy of misplaced priorities with regard to our country's defense."

The Pentagon’s decision to lift the transgender ban comes five years after it ended the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which prohibited homosexual troops from openly serving.

More details on the Pentagon’s decision to lift the transgender ban can be found here.